ThunderWolves stonewalled by Ft. Lewis

DURANGO, Colo. -- The CSU-Pueblo
men’s soccer team knew that traveling to Durango and facing
the third-ranked Fort Lewis Skyhawks would not be easy. The
men unfortunately had their suspicions confirmed on Friday, as they
dropped a comprehensive 2-0 decision in the semifinal round of the
RMAC tournament.

Coach Roy Stanley said he took his
squad to Durango intent on playing solid attacking soccer, but Fort
Lewis stymied the ThunderWolves at almost every turn.

The Skyhawks outshot the Pack 12 to
two in the first half, and Stanley said that his team was closed
down and choked off virtually all game. “They did a
great job of defending. We didn’t play as quick as we
needed to, but we didn’t have a bad game,” he
said.

Fort Lewis scored in the 26th and
33rd minutes, and the two goal advantage proved to be
insurmountable. In the second half, the Skyhawks dropped as
many as eight players at a time into their half of the field in an
effort to stave off any sort of attacking play by
CSU-Pueblo.

Stanley credited the opposing
team’s play more than once, and said that both of their goals
were well earned. One Skyhawk goal came off a good cross into
the box, and the other score resulted from a free kick that was
headed in.

Ultimately, the Skyhawks’
solid defense was too much for the ThunderWolves to overcome.
“We put up a good, physical effort, but our technical
sharpness in terms of completing passes was lacking,” Stanley
said.

“They respect us more than
they did a month ago, but ultimately, they were the better
team,” he added.

The ThunderWolves still have an
outside shot at qualifying for the NCAA tournament, but the team
would have to be picked from the “super region,” and
despite the team being ranked 25th in the nation, the chances of
playing on this season are rather slim.